O.J. Simpson wanted guns in Vegas hotel: witness

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A man who was with O.J. Simpson during an armed confrontation over sports memorabilia in a Las Vegas hotel room told a court on Tuesday the former star athlete asked him to bring a gun.

Walter Alexander, testifying against Simpson as part of a plea deal with prosecutors, said the onetime football star who was acquitted in 1995 of killing his wife and her friend, raised the issue of bringing weapons during a meeting at the Palms hotel earlier on September 13, the day of the incident.

"He asked if we could bring some heat in case something goes wrong," Alexander said on the third day of a Las Vegas court hearing to determine whether Simpson and two other men should face trial on 12 criminal charges in what prosecutors call an armed robbery.

"He (Simpson) said, 'It shouldn't be any problem but in case there are any problems, can you bring some guns?'" Alexander said.

Simpson, 60, is accused of plotting and leading the armed robbery of his own memorabilia from a pair of collectors, Alfred Beardsley and Bruce Fromong, at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino.

On cross-examination, defense attorney Yale Galanter attacked Alexander's credibility on the witness stand and suggested that he shaded his testimony against Simpson to gain leniency and ultimately profit from the case.

Galanter asked Alexander about his involvement in a Web site myprivategeisha.com. Alexander said he knows the operator of the site but has no other involvement.

As prosecutors tried to object to that line of questioning, Galanter shot back: "He lied under oath, he's a pimp!" To Alexander, he said: "You forgot to tell them you are a pimp."

Alexander denied that he ever sold sex.